Reviews:Screen International:A warm-hearted story of cooking and families, the glossily made Final Recipe is a frothy, engaging and gently moving story of a family driven apart and finally reunited by a passion for food.

The heart of Final Recipe may be pure melodrama, but it is a glossy and enjoyable journey.

Synopsis:&nbsp
Hao was once a famous chef but his Chinese restaurant is now an unpopular destination due to changing tastes of modern people. He despises the fact that people nowadays do not respect traditional dishes and has become a bitter old man who is difficult to deal with. Hao's only hope is that his grandson Mark enters a prestigious university, but Mark's dream is to follow his grandfather's footsteps and become a chef and take over the restaurant.

Due to Hao's difficult personality, the restaurant is on the verge of bankruptcy and he finally collapses. In order to save the restaurant, Mark enters a cooking contest without his grandfather's knowledge and consent in Shanghai. He competes against talented chefs from Japan, Korea and Australia, and freely shows of ravishing cooking skills that he has accumulated from his grandfather over the years.

- "Screen International" reported that Fortissimo Films, who handles sales of Final Recipe outside of Asia, had several sales confirmed during the Hong Kong Filmart last month. In addition, Fortissimo has now finalized a deal with HBO on the film for the exclusive Latin American premium pay TV rights for the second half of 2015.

(04/04/14)Final Recipe will be the closing film at the 30th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, May 1-11.

(02/25/14)
Fortissimo Films, which produced and is handling sales of Final Recipe in European territories, made several deals at the EFM (European Film Market) during Berlinale. The film was a strong seller. Distribution rights went to AV Visionen (Germany), Kiss Comunicacio (Spain), Officine UBU (Italy), Praesens Films (Switzerland) and Discovery Film and Video Distribution (Former Yugoslavia).

(02/12/14)Final Recipe opened the Culinary Cinema at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival on February 9th. According to Korean media reports, the screening/dinner packages were sold out. The film brought audience to laughter and tears, gaining a standing ovation at the end. A Q & A with Michelle and director Gina Kim followed the screening. (see News for more Berlinale photos)

(02/08/14)- Final Recipe has been selected for the 31st Miami International Film Festival, Culinary Cinema, March 7-16. Tickets now opens for members of Miami Film Society and will go on sale February 14 for general public.

Michelle and director Gina Kim are scheduled to attend the film festival and they will accept press interviews on Monday February 10th.

- According to "Korean Cinema Today", Final Recipe is expected to be released in China as early as the first half of this year and then it will advance onto the U.S. market. "In this story about a Chinese family, most of the lines are spoken in English as we targeted for Chinese and the U.S. markets, rather than Korea," said Korean producer Choi Yeon-woo (Yeonu Choi).

- Characters: Julia
Famous food critic and Final Recipe's executive producer. In order to turn her competition into a success, she goes out of her way to discover talented chefs. She finds David in a rural Singapore restaurant and turns him into a star chef. They end up getting married and hope for a blissful marriage, but they are faced with various unforeseen obstacles in life.

Mark
A responsible young high school student, who wishes to enter a culinary competition to revitalize his grandfather's near-bankrupt restaurant. His skillful grandfather taught him to cook and his own talents are next to none. Wanting to fulfill his grandfather's wish for him to become an engineer, he has not fully expressed his cooking chops, but this competition is a chance for him to show the world what he's made of.

David
A talented chef whose skills are good enough to win Final Recipe. He learned to cook from his conservative father who only insisted on traditional dishes. He goes against his father's wishes to enter the competition to prove himself as a chef and wins it. He becomes very successful and opens a restaurant in downtown London under his name. He realizes that due to a prolonged absence he could lose the most precious person in his life -- his own son.

(01/20/14)Final Recipe will be the opening film of the Culinary Cinema programme of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale, Feb 6-16), The programme of special presentations on food and/or the environment runs from February 9 to 14.

Berlinale press release: Culinary Cinema 2014&nbsp &nbsp
"... Opening the programme is the Korean feature Final Recipe by Gina Kim. Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) plays the producer of an extremely glamourous cooking contest who becomes entangled in a family drama. On this first evening, Daniel Achilles from Berlin's reinstoff restaurant will man the Culinary Cinema's stove."

(11/09/13)
Watched Final Recipe at AFM today! Heart-warming and enjoyable. A very well made film - well written and well acted, with some touching scenes. The film is in English with occasionally Mandarin (English subtitled). Thank you so much Nicole and Andrew of Fortissimo for the ticket!

- Another "Final Recipe" synopsis:
Singapore, a place where the starve citizens struggle with each other to open restaurants. Hao, a renowned chef, and his son are busily working to welcome and feed their customers.

A few years later, an empty restaurant is visible on hectic streets of Singapore. When his son left him a long time ago, Hao's passion for cooking and hope as a chef also fled. Despite his father leaving to pursue his own dream of becoming a true chef, Mark has not left his grandfather's side. Hao doesn't want Mark to follow in his footsteps to become a failed chef. "You and I are too much alike. But I will never let you repeat my mistakes." Despite Hao's wishes, Mark desires to become a real chef like his grandfather, perhaps he will become the best chef that he can be.

Hao's financially troubled restaurant is on the verge of shutting down, and he collapses because of the burden that comes with it. Wanting to save the restaurant at whatever the cost, Mark embarks on a journey to enter the international culinary competition called 'Final Recipe'.
Julia, executive producer of Final Recipe, watches over Mark, whose rapidly expanding skills are enough to win the competition, and begins to see his talent and potential to become a master chef.

(10/07/13)- Final Recipe will be screened at the 37th Sao Paulo International Film Festival (October 18-31) in Brazil as a part of "Korea Focus". (titled as "A Receita Final")
- Final Recipe will be screened during the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California in November.

(09/22/13)
Michelle with director Gina Kim and actor Chin Han attended the world premiere of Final Recipe at the 61st San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, September 21st.

(1) Gina Kim, Michelle Yeoh, and Chin Han attending the premiere of Final Recipe
(2) Michelle speaking at the opening ceremony of the San Sebastian festival
(3) Michelle greeted by fans on the redcarpet of Final Recipe premiere
more photos from the festival can be seen at event photos)

(09/15/13)
Michelle will be attending the San Sebastian International Film Festival this weekend. She is invited as a special guest of honor. Final Recipe opens the Culinary Zinema section of the festival.

(09/15/13)
(Another) Synopsis:
Hao is a renowned chef in Singapore who runs a restaurant and raises his grandson Mark, who dreams of following Hao's footsteps. Hao disapproves Mark's desire to become a chef, because he was disillusioned after his son's departure and his own failure. However, after Hao collapses because of the financial burden of the restaurant, Mark participates in the international competition 'Final Recipe' to save the business. Julia, the executive producer of the show, watches over Mark and recognizes his potential to become a master chef. (Fortissimo Films)

(09/06/13)Final Recipe will be the opening night film at the 33rd Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF, October 10-20).

Synopsis:
Shanghai, China. One of the most prestigious culinary competitions is under way. Julia (Michelle Yeoh) hopes that her husband David (a former chef) enters the contest and rediscovers his love for cooking. But, he'll have to compete against a young prodigy named Mark who wins round after round against some of the toughest competitors in Asia. Julia notices something particular about Mark, slowly realizing that the young prodigy and her husband resemble each other.

- On August 25, Henry Lau and Bobby Lee appeared on the KCon panel "Making of Final Recipe", moderated by Yeon Woo Choi, a Korean producer of the film, in Los Angeles.
A 3 minute film trailer was shown.
Director Gina Kim was supposed to be at the panel but she couldn't join due to a "tiny accident".

Lau and Lee talked about their experiences on the film which was shot in Thailand with some pickup shots in Shanghai, China. Both of them praised Michelle. "She is amazing," said Henry Lau. "The movie won't be possible without Michelle. She is the one who put everything together." "She is the Meryl Streep of Asia," said Bobby Lee. "She is a legend."

The hostess said Michelle will be at the San Sebastian film festival. The film is going to be released worldwide next year.

(08/23/13)
The world premiere of Final Recipe will take place at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The film was invited to open the Culinary Zinema section.

Synopsis:
Once a famous chef, Hao's Chinese restaurant is now an unpopular destination. He despises the fact that people nowadays do not respect traditional dishes and he has become a bitter old man. Hao's only hope is that his grandson Mark enters a prestigious university, but Mark's dream is to follow his grandfather's footsteps and become a chef.

Hao's restaurant is on the verge of bankruptcy and he finally collapses. In order to save the restaurant, Mark enters a TV cooking contest in Shanghai, called Final Recipe. He competes against talented young chefs from around the region and freely shows off ravishing cooking skills that he has accumulated from his grandfather over the years. Meanwhile, contest producer Julia (Michelle Yeoh) hopes that her husband and world-renowned chef David (Chin Han) enters the contest and rediscovers his love for cooking. As Mark wins round after round and gains attention, Julia slowly realizes that Mark and her husband David shares a secret that they don't yet know. &nbsp (Fortissimo Films)

(08/19/13)
On Sunday August 25, director Gina Kim, actors Henry Lau and Bobby Lee will be talking about Final Recipe on a panel
at KCon, a Korean pop convention in Los Angeles. (program, search for "Final Recipe")

(07/24/13)
In the preview video of "Culinary Zinema" from Festival de San Sebastian, you can have a glance of some shots in Final Recipe. 00:00-00:16 and 01:54-02:05. No Michelle yet.
Video: Culinary Zinema 2013 Preview &nbsp (02:28)

Synopsis: Hao was once a famous chef, but his restaurant is now on the verge of bankruptcy due to his stubbornness and changing tastes of modern people who do not respect traditional dishes any more. To save his legacy, his grandson Mark decides to enter a renowned cooking contest, the Final Recipe, competing against talented chefs from all over the world. As Mark wins round after round with his ravishing cooking skills, he begins to gain attention, even from the main producer Julia, who slowly realizes that Mark strangely resembles her husband David, a master chef.

(07/22/13)Final Recipe will be the opening film of the "Culinary Zinema" (Culinary Cinema) section at the Festival de San Sebastian (San Sebastian International Film Festival, Sept. 20-28) in Spain. Screening date: Saturday September 21st. &nbsp (Programme)

(05/15/13)Final Recipe is currently (still) under "post production" and it is on Fortissimo Films's "Upcoming Films" list for Cannes.

When you enter the world of cooking you enter a universe of passion, talent, egos, energy, and style. Family is the secret ingredient.

(04/09/13)
Images from Final Recipe:

challenges

(1) street vendors &nbsp (2-3) film sets

(03/24/13)
Michelle and her upcoming Final Recipe were featured in Hollywood Reporter, issue of March 18. According to the article, the film will be released in the summer.
Michelle was honored with the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award at the 7th Asian Film Awards last week in Hong Kong.

Michelle as Julia in Final Recipe

Hollywood Reporter: The Passion of Michelle Yeoh

(03/19/13)Final Recipe poster image. (A Grand Elephant Productions)

(03/11/13)
According to Hong Kong media, it is planned that some footage of Michelle's Final Recipe will be shown during the Cannes Film Festival in May.

(02/21/13)
"Family is the secret ingredient." Actually the title for this film was originally "Missing Ingredient", and then changed to "Cooktales" and finally "Final Recipe".

FINAL RECIPE SYNOPSIS:

Hao was once a famous chef but his Chinese restaurant is now an unpopular destination due to changing tastes of modern people. He despises the fact that people nowadays do not respect traditional dishes and has become a bitter old man who is difficult to deal with. Hao's only hope is that his grandson Mark enters a prestigious university, but Mark's dream is to follow his grandfather's footsteps and become a chef and take over the restaurant.

Due to Hao's difficult personality, the restaurant is on the verge of bankruptcy and he finally collapses. In order to save the restaurant, Mark enters a cooking contest without his grandfather's knowledge and consent in Shanghai. He competes against talented chefs from Japan, Korea and Australia, and freely shows of ravishing cooking skills that he has accumulated from his grandfather over the years.

Meanwhile, contest producer Julia hopes that her husband and world-renowned chef David enters the contest and rediscovers his love for cooking. As Mark wins round after round and gains attention, Julia notices something particular about him, then she slowly realizes that Mark and her husband David resemble each other...
(Fortissimo Films)

(02/10/13)
When attedning a Chinese New Year open house in her hometown Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, Michelle told reporters that Final Recipe is expected to be completed either in April or May this year.
"We are hoping to get it ready for the Cannes Film Festival to be held in May," said Michelle.

(02/06/13)
CJ Entertainment and Fortissimo Films will be introducing Final Recipe to buyers at the European Film Market (EFM) during the Berlinale 2013. According to "Screen Daily,"
CJ produced and fully financed the film which is currently in post-production. Fortissimo executive produced and is handling sales in European territories
while CJ handles the rest of the world. Bang Singapore and A Grand Elephant Productions co-produced with CJ.

"Set in Singapore, the film stars Michelle Yeoh as the producer of a TV show that pits local chefs against each other," reported "Screen Daily." "Henry Lau, a member of pop group Super Junior M, plays a young chef who enters the competition in an attempt to save his family's restaurant. Chin Han (The Dark Knight, 2012) also stars."

(02/05/13)
- Michelle is officially listed as one of the executive producers of the film. The international sales of Final Recipe are being handled by Fortissimo Films
which previously handled Michelle's Reign of Assassins.

According to "Korea Herald," the film tells the story of young aspiring chef Mark (played by Henry Lau), who decides to participate in an international cooking contest in an attempt to save his grandfather's restaurant from going out of business. Lau is a Hong Kong-Canadian, and is known to speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and English.

As reported earlier, Michelle plays an executive producer on a prestigious television cooking show. The film is described as a family drama and romantic comedy.
Much of the post production has been done in Korea.

(01/16/13)
The official title of the film is Final Recipe (formerly Cooktales).

(12/06/12)
- During her recent visit to Taiwan, Michelle promised Taiwanese media that she will bring her new film (Cooktales) to Taipei next year.
According to the media, the film can be expected for a release around March or April.

- In an interview with Chin Han, the Singapore-born actor who plays one of the lead roles in the film described it as a "romantic comedy". "It's about master chefs," said Chin Han, "and I get to do a lot of cooking."

(10/15/12)
Korea's CJ Entertainment introduced some of their upcoming movies at the CJ Night held during the 17th Busan Film Festival
which ended last Friday. Some footage from Cooktales were shown.

(10/08/12)
CJ Entertainment announced that Cooktales is scheduled for release next year.

(09/21/12)
Last week, director Gina Kim attended a special screening and discussion of Michelle's The Lady, directed by Luc Besson, in South Korea.

Director Kim talked about The Lady, Michelle, Cooktales, and the Korean film industry. She complimented Michelle,
saying that she is "the best actress in Asia." Speaking about shooting Cooktales with Michelle, Kim said:
"Actors usually try to save their energy and don't really bother if it isn't their part. But Michelle is different.
She gave 120% effort in helping newcomer Henry Lau's parts too (even when she was not on camera)."

Kim said Cooktales is an English language film setting in Shanghai.
(for a photo of the event please see News)

(08/10/12)Cooktales is heading towards the final leg of the post-production, according to
Keiko Bang, president of Bang Singapore.

(06/01/12)
"Three generations of men are separated for pursuing their own ideals. I am the woman who tries to bring them back together. The background of the story is a cooking show,"
Michelle spoke about Cooktales during media interviews when she attended a fashion show yesterday.
"I'm having a pleasant and easy time. Everyone else worked very hard to learn cooking - chopping, dishes, dumplings, noodles, etc., I just relax and taste their food," said Michelle with a smile. Asked if she has gained weight with all the good food, Michele said "a little bit" and she laughed: "I was worried that I would not be able to fit in this dress!" She said she doesn't usually cook herself since she travels so much and often lives in hotels. (see News for videos and photos from the event)

Asked if she plans to do more action films, Michelle said she hopes so and she has several action films under consideration.

Uh, it looks like Michelle is acting like... herself. Comparing to her last Bangkok filming on the Aung San Suu Kyi film The Lady in which she had to lose 10kg, go on a strict diet, become a marathon runner, and memorize speeches in Burmese, etc., no wonder Michelle said she would take it easy this time. Maybe the only possible dangers are the heat in Bangkok (keep cool Michelle!) or, the high heels - well, I assume at least this time she won't need to deliver deadly kicks in them as she did in some of her films!

(05/24/12)
Film Business Asia: Yeoh stirred by CJ CooktalesAccording to the report, Cooktales shooting is expected to continue to the end of June, with a release scheduled for the end of 2012 or early 2013.

(05/22/12)
Michelle rushed back to her home state Perak, Malaysia for receiving the honor of the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Perak award. Congratulations Datuk Seri Michelle!
(event photos) &nbsp
She left Bangkok on Monday evening after her filming of the day and only stayed in Malaysia for less than 24 hours before returning to Bangkok.

Filming locations in Thailand include Workpoint and Bangkok International Airport.
Bangkok has been boiling hot (reached 104F/40C)...

left photo: cooking in the heat &nbsp ("Wedding Guru" and "Twitter" photos)

(05/09/12)
Michelle's new film, Cooktales (working title), started filming in Bangkok, Thailand in the middle of April.

Set in Singapore, the story is written and directed by South Korea's writer-director Gina Kim (Never Forever).
The project was first announced at AFM in November 2010.
The production was planned to begin last summer in Singapore and China before Michelle's busy promotional tour
on her latest film The Lady. It got postponed to this year because the director fell sick before the scheduled shooting.

In recent interviews Michelle said the film is a family drama and about cooking. Personal differences break apart a family of three generations
and cooking brings them back together. Singaporean actor Chin Han (The Dark Knight) and
Chinese Canadian singer-songwriter-dancer Henry Lau will play father and son.
Other cast members include Hong Kong actor Chang Tseng (2012), Australian actor Aden Young (Mao's Last Dancer),
Japanese model and actress Lika Minamoto, Korean American actor and comedian Bobby Lee (MADtv), and Broadway actress Lori Tan Chinn.
Some of the main and supporting actors were in Bangkok in March, learning cooking in preparation for the shooting.

Michelle's character in the film is described as an "executive producer on a prestigious television cooking show" and "culinary grand master". More relationships
will be revealed as we learn more about the story. The film is being shot in English.